LAPS NEWS

Los Alamos Public Schools is partnering with Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) to roll out the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS) to its students at Los Alamos Middle School, Topper Freshman Academy and Los Alamos High School.

Los Alamos Public Schools is committed to creating and sustaining a comprehensive coordinated effort to improve the overall safety and well-being of our students and staff, and this app is one step towards that goal.  

The SS-ARS program teaches students, teachers and administrators how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, of individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others. And if they do see these warning signs, to notify a trusted adult or use the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.

The program educates participants to:

• Recognize the signs and signals of at risk behaviors

• Take every sign and signal seriously; act quickly to get help by talking to a trusted adult OR

• Report it anonymously through SS-ARS 24/7 Crisis Center, mobile app, or website

• Respond to and manage the submitted tip via a multi-disciplinary educator and administrator teams
• Sustain the curriculum and awareness via students clubs, in-school activities and call to action week

Students are often aware of the problems their peers are facing, so it is important to empower them to know the danger signs and give them the tools to help each other with the assistance of trained and caring adults. SS-ARS teaches students what to look for in text, video and photos while empowering them to act quickly to help a fellow student.

The impacts and benefits of implementing the SS-ARS program:

• Educate and train our students and staff on signs and signals
• Reduction in negative behavior

• Intervention in negative behaviors

• Help our students who are in need

• Create a safe and nurturing environment for our students and staff

The SS-ARS system is managed and maintained by a national digital leader in the school safety space and 24/7 Crisis Center national compliance leader, both have 20+ years of experience. SHP provides overall management and training of SS-ARS to school districts and students and pays for 100 percent of the costs to train and sustain the program in a school district.